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United Nations Daily Highlights, 96-11-11United Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The United Nations Home Page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgDAILY HIGHLIGHTSMonday, 11 November 1996This document is prepared by the Central News Section of the Department of Public Information and is updated every week-day at approximately 6:00 PM. HEADLINES
UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has been in constant contact with leaders of the Great Lakes region and UN officials in an effort to stop the deteriorating situation in the area, the Spokesman for the Secretary-General Sylvana Foa said. He has spoken at length with Prime Minister Kengo Wo Dondo of Zaire, who has expressed his willingness to cooperate with the United Nations to facilitate the provision of humanitarian assistance. The Spokesman indicated that Secretary-General also spoke with his Humanitarian Coordinator to the region Sergio Vieira de Mello who is currently in the Zairian capital, Kinshasa, meeting with senior officials to arrange details of delivering humanitarian assistance into eastern Zaire. She said that the need to provide this kind of assistance to refugees and others displaced by the conflict in that area was very urgent. "Two UN assessment teams are headed into Goma and Bukavu. We understand that one team has made it into Goma, whereas the other is still on the border trying to negotiate its way into Bukavu. Both teams have representatives of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the World Food Programme (WFP), the Department of Humanitarian Affairs (DHA) and the UN Childrens' Fund (UNICEF). Their mission is to look into access to Zairian affected populations, refugees and displaced people," the Spokesman stated, adding that the Secretary-General believed that those exclusive humanitarian missions were necessary in the light of the most urgent needs of all affected populations. Meanwhile, the Secretary General's Special Envoy to the Great Lakes region, Ambassador Raymond Chretien of Canada was in Kigali continuing to negotiate with all parties the access to refugees, internally displaced and other affected populations, the Spokesman for the Secretary-General said. The Secretary-General hoped that those efforts would bring about immediate results, although he recognised that the extreme security situation demanded a multinational force in the region to create conditions for humanitarian operations in an area where there are currently more than a million refugees, Ms. Foa pointed out. The Security Council has expressed its grave concern at the deteriorating situation in eastern Zaire and welcomed the Secretary- General's proposal that a multinational force be deployed there for humanitarian purposes. In a unanimous resolution Saturday 9 November, the Council strongly urged Member States to prepare arrangements for the safe delivery of humanitarian aid in the region and report as soon as possible on those arrangements, to enable the Council to authorise the deployment of the multinational force. The Council decided as well that the cost of implementing the operation will be borne by participating Member States and voluntary contributions, and encouraged all Member States to contribute to the operation. The Council requested the Secretary-General, in consultation with his Special Envoy, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), among others, to draw up a framework for a humanitarian task force, with military assistance, if necessary, charged with: delivering short-term humanitarian assistance and providing shelter; assisting the UNHCR with the protection and voluntary repatriation of refugees and displaced persons; and establishing humanitarian corridors for the delivery of assistance and to help voluntary repatriation. UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali had previously conveyed to the Security Council his considered judgement that the best option available at this stage was for a group of Member States to decide to establish a multinational force under the authority of the Security Council, according to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General. UN Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali has urged Member States, the United Nations system and civil society to join together, on the threshold of a new millennium, to seek ways to create for children a zone of peace. In a statement to the General Assembly's Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) on the study of his Expert on the Impact of Armed Conflict on Children, Dr. Boutros-Ghali said the study proposed practical ways for governments, civil society and the United Nations to enlighten the lives of the world's children. "Between the lines of this detailed and serious document, we can hear the cries of the 2 million children killed and the 15 million disabled or traumatized in conflicts over the past decade, calling out to us for urgent redress," the Secretary General stated. The Secretary-General said that the result of the study, prepared under the leadership of Gra‡a Machel, is the fruit of extensive and wide- ranging consultations -- a truly global dialogue -- including: workshops in every region of the world; field visits to conflict zones; thematic studies by experts in a variety of disciplines; discussions among eminent personalities; and consultations with governments, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), armed opposition movements and children themselves. Ms. Machel, a former Mozambican Minister of Education was appointed three years ago as the Secretary-general's expert to examine the issue. She said the report was a testimony to the millions of children who had been killed, injured and permanently disabled in armed conflict. Some $210 million has been pledged at a meeting of the General Assembly's Ad Hoc Committee for the Announcement of Voluntary Contributions to the 1997 programmes of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The pledges came from representatives of 23 UN Member States and the Observer for Switzerland, while the representatives of Denmark, Japan and Malaysia, and the observer for the Holy See announced their intention to contribute at a later date. The Director of the New York Liaison Office of the UNHCR, Soren Jessen- Petersen, speaking on behalf of High Commissioner Sadako Ogata, said that projected funding requirements for 1997 amounted to some $1.14 billion, consisting of $452.6 million for 1997 general programmes and $690.5 million for various special operations, emergencies and repatriations. General Assembly President Razali Ismail said the need to hold a pledging conference each year to sustain the work of the UNHCR was "somewhat bizarre, " particularly when "we know all too well how urgent their needs for resources are, and how critical is the need for an international and coordinated approach to protect refugees in an increasingly volatile world." Meanwhile, under the terms of a draft resolution approved without a vote by the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), the General Assembly would urge the international community to support the search by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for durable solutions to refugee problems, including voluntary repatriation, integration and resettlement. The Assembly would also underline the interrelationship between protection and solutions, as well as the desirability of prevention, through respect for human rights. Global trade and development would be strengthened by further liberalisation of trade in agricultural products, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) was told by the representative of Australia, Richard Rowe, speaking on behalf of the Cairns Group of agricultural exporting countries. Speaking as the Committee concluded consideration of trade and development issues, he said the group would use the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Singapore to press for full and timely implementation of the Uruguay Round Agreements. The representative of Uganda, Nester Odaga-Jalomayo has told the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary) as it discussed savings from the regular budget and human resources management, that the Efficiency Board was a "machine for cutting the budget," staffed by experts from the private sector or representatives of national governments who might not be sensitive to some provisions of the Charter. The United Nations should be run differently from a multinational corporation, he added. Australia's representative, Miles Armitage, on the other hand, expressed support for the Board, saying it had been established within the Secretary- General's authority and deserved broader support. Rather than destroy the Organisation, the pursuit of efficiencies would revitalise it and improve its delivery of programmes, he said. Chaired by the Under Secretary-General for Administration and Management, Joseph E. Connor, the Efficiency Board recommends actions needed to enhance efficiency in the Organisation. Fierce fighting in north-west Afghanistan between the Taliban and combined forces of General Dostum and Ahmed Shah Massood has forced 40,000 to 50,000 people to leave their homes, according to UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance to Afghanistan (UNOCHA) and UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) staff based in the region. About 45,000 people from small towns and villages in front-line areas in Badghis province have fled southwards to the town of Qala-i-Nau, while another 2,000 to 3,000 have traveled further south, to Herat, a city captured by the Taliban. People arriving in Herat reported heavy shelling and aerial bombardments, and said they left their homes so hurriedly they were unable to bring any belongings with them. Some of the women and children were reported to be in poor health after the journey. A 22-truck UN convoy was recently sent from Herat to Qala-i-Nau, carrying 400 family tents and 7,500 blankets from UNHCR and UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) stocks, as well as 149 metric tonnes of food provided by the World Food Programme (WFP), and 5 metric tonnes of UNICEF high protein biscuits. Displaced people arriving in Herat are also receiving tents, blankets, plastic sheeting and food from the same three agencies. An International Police Task Force (IPTF) monitor of the Netherlands was shot and wounded this morning in the former Yugoslavia, according to the Spokesman for the Secretary-General Sylvana Foa. However, she pointed out that it was not clear who shot him or what the events were. The incident occurred in Koraj, which is on the side of the Republica Srpska, said the Spokesman, adding that the IPTF monitor was in stable condition at a hospital in Tuzla. This happened in one of the tense areas along the inter- entity boundary line, Ms. Foa added. For information purposes only - - not an official record From the United Nations home page at <http://www.un.org> - email: unnews@un.orgUnited Nations Daily Highlights Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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